Apportioning shared financial expenses

ABSTRACT

A payment system can accept an electronic reservation for a merchant restaurant in response to a reservation request received from a user. The payment system can detect that the user is present at a location associated with the merchant restaurant based at least in part on an indication received from a mobile device associated with the user. The payment system can determine a completion of a service associated with the electronic reservation. The payment system can provide an electronic bill for the service to be displayed on the mobile device of the user. Based on receiving an authorization of the electronic bill from the mobile device of the user, the payment system can charge, through a card-less payment transaction, the user for at least an amount disclosed in the electronic bill.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 14/219,974, filed Mar. 19, 2014, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/896,618, entitled“RESERVATION AND WAITLIST MANAGEMENT”, filed on Oct. 28, 2013, both ofwhich are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND

People often dine together at restaurants in groups. When diningtogether, a group of people may receive a shared bill from therestaurant that specifies a total amount due as determined based on allof the items that were collectively ordered by the group. Typically, thegroup will split the bill, for example, by each contributing some amountof cash or providing a credit card to be charged. In some instances, therestaurant may be limited in number of credit cards that it can process,which can complicate the group's efforts to split the bill.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an environment for implementing aspectsin accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process for apportioning anelectronic bill among users;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of another example process for apportioning anelectronic bill among a group of users;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process for requestingapportioning of an electronic bill among a group of users;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example application view for requestingapportioning of an electronic bill.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an environment for implementing acard-less payment system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent disclosure overcome one or more of the above-referenced andother deficiencies in conventional approaches to apportioning, e.g.,splitting, a bill among a group of users. In particular, variousembodiments of the present disclosure can provide methods foridentifying users with whom a bill will be split and methods forconfirming whether an identified user will contribute funds to the billand in what amount.

A host user can interact with a system to create an electronicreservation, enroll in a waitlist, or create a purchase order. Whencreating the electronic reservation, enrolling in the waitlist, orcreating the purchase order, the host user can identify one or moreother users that are going to participate in the reservation, waitlist,or purchase order. For example, the host user can create a reservationfor two people and identify the two people, for example, by selectingthe two people from a list of contacts on the host user's phone. In someinstances, data that describes such electronic reservations, waitlists,or purchase orders can be used to simplify the apportioning, e.g.,splitting, of an electronic bill.

For example, an electronic reservation can identify a group of usersthat will be dining together at a particular restaurant. Each user inthe group may order one or more items from the restaurant menu. Whenit's time to pay the bill, each user device of a user in the group ofusers can be sent an electronic bill for the total amount due. Forexample, the point-of-sale can determine which user devices to send theelectronic bill based on the users that were identified in theelectronic reservation.

Once the electronic bill is received, a user in the group of users,e.g., the host user that created the electronic reservation, can selectan option to apportion the total amount due among other users in thegroup. In response, a new electronic bill for an apportioned amount canbe generated and sent to the user devices for each user in the group.Each user can review the new electronic bill for the apportioned amount,for example, using their respective user devices, and can pay theelectronic bill through a card-less payment transaction.

Using electronic reservations, waitlists, and purchase orders toidentify users that are involved in shared financial expense cansimplify the process of identifying who participated in a sharedfinancial expense. Further, allowing apportioning of electronic billscan allow more users to pay for their portion of the bill usingcard-less payment transactions.

Other advantages, variations, and functions are described and suggestedbelow as may be provided in accordance with the various embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an environment 100 for implementingaspects in accordance with various embodiments. The example environment100 includes a card-less payment system 108. The card-less paymentsystem 108 is configured to process card-less payment transactions, asdescribed below in reference to FIG. 6. The card-less payment system 108can be implemented as computer programs on one or more computers in oneor more locations, in which the systems, components, and techniquesdescribed below can be implemented.

Users, e.g., customers, can interact with the card-less payment system108 to perform card-less payment transactions with merchants, asdescribed below in reference to FIG. 6. For example, a user can interactwith a software application, e.g., a user application 103, running onthe user device 102 to pay for items purchased from a merchant through acard-less payment transaction. The user devices 102 and 114 can each bea computer coupled to the card-less payment system 108 through a datacommunication network 106, e.g., the Internet. The user devices 102 and114 generally each include a memory, e.g., a random access memory (RAM),for storing instructions and data, and a processor for executing storedinstructions. The user devices 102 and 114 can each include one or morecomponents, e.g., software or hardware, that are configured to determinea geographic location of the user device 102 using, for example, variousgeolocation techniques, e.g., a global positioning system (GPS).Further, the user devices 102 and 114 can each be any appropriate deviceoperable to send and receive requests, messages, or other types ofinformation over the network 106. Some examples of user devices includepersonal computers, cellular phones, handheld messaging devices, laptopcomputers, personal data assistants, tablet devices, and the like.

The network 106 can include any appropriate network, including anintranet, the Internet, a cellular network, a local area network, a widearea network, or any other such network, or combination thereof.Components used for such a system can depend at least in part upon thetype of network, the environment selected, or both. Protocols andcomponents for communicating over such a network are well known and willnot be discussed herein in detail. The merchant device 104 and the userdevice 102 can communicate over the network using wired or wirelessconnections, and combinations thereof.

As described below in reference to FIG. 6, users conducting card-lesspayment transactions with merchants through the card-less payment system108 will each have a respective user account with the card-less paymentsystem 108. Similarly, each merchant entering into card-less paymenttransactions with users will have a respective merchant account with thecard-less payment system 108.

Before conducting a card-less payment transaction, a user can interactwith a user application, e.g., the user application 103 running on theuser device 102, to “check in” with the particular merchant. By checkingin with the particular merchant, the user has not necessarily consentedto a card-less payment transaction. Rather, the user has simply made themerchant aware that the user is available for entering into a card-lesspayment transaction with the merchant. The card-less payment transactioncan be performed when the user interacts with the merchant at apoint-of-sale of the merchant, as described below in reference to FIG.6.

In some instances, users may want to apportion, e.g., split, a sharedfinancial expense that was incurred among two or more users. Forexample, a first and second user may be dining together at a restaurantand may want to split a shared bill for expenses that were incurred bythe first and second user during the meal. To address such a situation,in some embodiments, the card-less payment system 108 includes a billsplitting engine 120 that is configured to apportion, e.g., split, amongtwo or more users, a shared financial expense that was incurred by thetwo or more users for items that were purchased from a particularmerchant.

For example, a restaurant may interact with a merchant application 105to send, to a user device 102 of the first user and a user device 103 ofthe second user, an electronic receipt, e.g., a bill of charges, for ashared financial expense that was incurred by the first and second usersat the restaurant. The first user can interact with the user device 102to request apportionment of the electronic receipt and, in response, canbe sent a new electronic bill that divides the total sum among the twousers.

Generally, to apportion an electronic receipt, a merchant may ask usersthat were present during the shared financial expense, e.g., groupdinner, for identification. Then, once these users are identified, themerchant can send each of these users an electronic receipt which theusers can then apportion, as described above. This process can becumbersome for both the merchant and the people involved in the sharedfinancial expense.

To simplify this process, the merchant can determine which people werepresent during a shared financial expense based on data describing anelectronic reservation, waitlist, or purchase order. For example, a usercan interact with a system e.g., the card-less payment system 108, tocreate an electronic reservation with a merchant that identifies a groupof people that will participate in the reservation. Similarly, the usercan enroll in an electronic waitlist for a merchant that identifies agroup of people that will participate in the reservation. In anotherexample, the user can create an electronic purchase order for items onsale by a merchant and can identify a group of people that areparticipating in apportioning the cost of the purchase order. Thus, eachelectronic reservation, waitlist, or purchase order can identify a groupof people, e.g., two or more people, and a merchant, that will beinvolved in the shared financial transaction.

A database, e.g., the merchant reservations and waitlists database 113and the merchant order database 114, can store data describingelectronic reservations and waitlists, and electronic purchase orders,respectively, that were created by users. The database can include, foreach electronic reservation, waitlist, or purchase order, datadescribing a merchant name and references to one or more users that areparticipating in the respective reservation, waitlist, or purchaseorder. Further, the data may describe, for each user, a respective useraccount of the user with the card-less payment system 108, the user'scontact information, e.g., e-mail or mobile phone number, or both.

When a user that created an electronic reservation, enrolled in awaitlist, or created a purchase order, checks into a merchant'slocation, the merchant is able to obtain details for that electronicreservation, waitlist, or purchase order. For example, when a userchecks in with a merchant, for example, by interacting with the userapplication 103, the merchant is able to access information relating tothe user through a display screen on the merchant device 104. That is,the merchant can determine if that user has created any electronicreservations, enrolled in waitlists, or created purchase orders thatinvolve the merchant. The merchant can also identify any other usersthat were identified by the user as being part of a reservation,waitlist, or purchase order.

Thus, for example, once a user that created an electronic reservationfor a merchant's restaurant has checked in, an electronic receipt can begenerated based on which people were identified by the user for thatelectronic reservation. This electronic receipt can be sent torespective user devices for each of the people identified in theelectronic reservation. If the user decides to apportion the totalamount due in the electronic receipt, the card-less payment system 108can split the total amount among the user and the people that wereidentified by the user for the electronic reservation.

While an electronic reservation, waitlist, or purchase order mayidentify multiple people, there may be instances in which only some ofthe identified people want to contribute to a bill. For example, personA may create an electronic reservation that identifies persons B, C, andD. In this example, the card-less payment system 108 may send anelectronic receipt to respective user devices for each person A, B, C,and D. However, it may be the case that only persons A and C want tocontribute to the shared financial expense incurred between the personsA, B, C, and D.

To address this scenario, in some embodiments, users can opt toparticipate in apportioning a shared financial expense by checking inwith the merchant using their own user device. In some embodiments,users can opt to participate in apportioning a shared financial expenseby being checked in with the merchant by some entity, e.g., another useror a merchant. In some embodiments, users that are not checked in withmerchant, but were included in a electronic reservation, waitlist, orpurchase order, are sent an electronic message from the card-lesspayment system 108 to confirm whether or not the user wants toparticipate in apportioning a shared financial expense. Users thatconfirm participation in the apportionment can be sent a respectiveelectronic bill for their apportioned amount due and can pay for thebill using the methods described in this specification.

There are other ways to identify users with whom a shared expense willbe apportioned. In some embodiments, a user, e.g., the host user, caninteract with a user application, e.g., the user application 103, toidentify one or more other users with whom the shared financial expensewill be apportioned. For example, in some embodiments, the host user canidentify another user through a list of contacts that stored on a userdevice, e.g., the user device 102, of the first user. Similarly, a usercan add or remove users from an existing reservation, waitlist, orpurchase order to modify the group of users that are considered forapportionment.

In some embodiments, a user that was identified for apportionment usingthe techniques described above, e.g., from a reservation, waitlist, orpurchase order, is automatically identified, e.g., “checked in,” forapportionment of a shared financial expense when a user device of theuser is geographically located with a specified geofence. The specifiedgeofence can be, for example, a geofence that defines the perimeter ofthe merchant's geographic location. In some embodiments, a merchant canidentify, e.g., “check in,” users to be included in apportioning ashared financial expense.

In some instances, in lieu of the electronic receipt, the merchant mayprovide the first user with a hardcopy of the receipt for the sharedfinancial expense. In some embodiments, the hardcopy of the receiptincludes a machine-readable code, e.g., a bar code or a QR code. In someembodiments, the first user can scan, using the user device 102 andthrough the user application 103, the machine-readable code to obtain anelectronic copy of the receipt.

After the electronic receipt is communicated to the user device 102, thefirst user can interact with the user application 103 to view and payfor the shared financial expense. In some embodiments, the first usercan interact with the user application 103 to select an apportionmentoption for the shared financial expense to apportion the expense withother users, e.g., the second user. In response to selecting theapportionment option, the bill splitting engine 120 can generate, foreach user, a respective bill for an apportioned amount due for theshared financial expense.

For example, the bill splitting engine 120 can generate an apportionedamount due by dividing the total amount due for a shared financialexpense by the number of users participating in the apportionment. Thecard-less payment system 108 can communicate, to a respective userdevice of each user, e.g., the user device 102 and the user device 114,data describing a respective electronic bill for the apportioned amountdue. Once the data describing a respective bill is received by a userdevice, a user can interact with a user application running on the userdevice to authorize a card-less payment transaction through the user'saccount with the card-less payment system 108. The user can optionallyadd a tip amount to the respective bill, for example, by specifying anumerical tip amount or a tip percentage based on the respectiveapportioned amount due. For example, after respective electronic billsare generated, the card-less payment system 108 can communicate with theuser device 114 to provide the second user with an electronic bill forthe apportioned amount. The card-less payment system 108 can also verifythat the second user wants to participate in the apportionment of theshared financial expense by requesting, from the second user,authorization to perform a card-less payment transaction using thesecond user's account. Authorization can be obtained by simplycommunicating an electronic message to a user device of the user andreceiving a confirmation message from the user device.

In some embodiments, users that are participating in an electronicreservation, waitlist, purchase order, or users that are identified bythe first user, are automatically billed for their respective bills fortheir apportioned amounts due upon exiting a geofence, e.g., a geofencethat defines the perimeter of the merchant.

In some embodiments, when a user does not have a user account with thecard-less payment system 108, the card-less payment system 108communicates, to a user device belonging to the user, a hyperlink fordownloading software, e.g., a user application 115, that allows the userto create a user account with the card-less payment system 108. Forexample, if the second user does not have a user account with thecard-less payment system 108, then the card-less payment system 108 cancommunicate, to the user device 114 and through, for example, an e-mailor text message, a hyperlink for downloading software that allows theuser to create a user account with the card-less payment system 108. Thecard-less payment system 108 can obtain the user's contact informationby using the data stored in the merchant reservations and waitlistsdatabase 113 or the merchant orders database 114, as described above.

The shared financial expense does not necessarily need to be apportionedequally among users. For example, in some embodiments, a user cancontribute for their portion of the shared financial expense byselecting one or more items that were purchased in the shared financialexpense. In response to selecting the one or more items, the user canreceive an electronic bill for an apportioned amount for the selecteditems. For example, the second user can interact with the userapplication 115 to select one or more items that participated in theshared financial expense. The user device 114 can communicate datadescribing the selected items to the card-less payment system 108 andthe bill splitting engine 120 can generate, for the second user, anelectronic bill for expenses that were incurred for the selected items,and can generate an electronic bill for the first user for the remainingexpenses in the shared financial expense.

In some embodiments, the card-less payment system 108 is configured toaggregate data describing users including, for example, how often a userhas visited a particular restaurant, the user's dining preferences,e.g., food and drink preferences, and dietary restrictions. Thisinformation can be provided to merchants, e.g., through a server'smobile device, when the user checks in.

FIG. 1 describes the bill splitting engine 120 performing operationsusing the card-less payment system 108. However, other implementationsare possible where the bill splitting engine 120 is configured toperform operations using a user device, e.g., the user device 102, or amerchant device, e.g., the merchant device 104.

The merchant device 104 can be a computer coupled to the card-lesspayment system 108 through a data communication network 106, e.g., theInternet. The merchant device 104 generally includes a memory, e.g., arandom access memory (RAM), for storing instructions and data, and aprocessor for executing stored instructions. The merchant device 104 canbe any appropriate device operable to send and receive requests,messages, or other types of information over the network 106. Themerchant device 104 can also include a display screen though which amerchant interacting with the merchant device 104 can view information,e.g., information describing orders that were received from customers.Some examples of merchant devices include point-of-sale systems,personal computers, cellular phones, handheld messaging devices, laptopcomputers, personal data assistants, tablet devices, and the like.

The data plane 110 includes one or more resources, servers, hosts,instances, routers, switches, data stores, other similar components, ora combination thereof. The resources of the data plane 110 are notlimited to storing and providing access to data. Indeed, there may beseveral map servers, layers, or other elements, processes, orcomponents, which may be chained or otherwise configured, and which caninteract to perform tasks including, for example, obtaining data from anappropriate data store. As used in this specification, the term “datastore” refers to any device or combination of devices capable ofstoring, accessing, and retrieving data, which may include anycombination and number of data servers, databases, data storage devices,and data storage media, in any standard, distributed, or clusteredenvironment.

The data stores of the data plane 110 can include several separate datatables, databases, or other data storage mechanisms and media forstoring data relating to a particular aspect. For example, the dataplane 110 illustrated includes mechanisms for storing merchantreservations and waitlists 113 and merchant purchase orders 114, whichcan be used to serve content. The data plane 110 is operable, throughlogic associated therewith, to receive instructions from the orderingsystem 107 and to obtain, update, or otherwise process data,instructions, or other such information in response thereto, asdescribed above.

Each server typically includes an operating system that providesexecutable program instructions for the general administration andoperation of that server, and typically will include a computer-readablemedium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of theserver, enable the server to perform its intended functions. Suitableimplementations for the operating system and general functionality ofthe servers are known or commercially available, and are readilyimplemented by persons having ordinary skill in the art, particularly inlight of the disclosure herein.

The environment in one embodiment is a distributed computing environmentincluding several computer systems and components that areinterconnected through one or more communication links, using one ormore computer networks or direct connections. However, the systemdescribed above can be configured to operate equally well using fewer ora greater number of components than are illustrated in FIG. 1. Thus, thesystem 100 in FIG. 1 is provided merely as one example, and does notlimit the scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process 200 for apportioning anelectronic bill among a group of users. The example process 200 isprovided merely as an example and additional or fewer steps may beperformed in similar or alternative orders, or in parallel, within thescope of the various embodiments described in this specification.

A computing device determines that a host user has checked in at amerchant restaurant 202. The computing device obtains data describingone or more users that were identified by the host user in an electronicreservation, waitlist, or purchase order 204. The computing devicereceives data describing a total amount due for a shared financialexpense incurred by the host user and the one or more identified users206. The computing device generates an electronic bill using the totalamount due for the shared financial expense 208. The computing deviceprovides data describing the generated electronic bill to a respectiveuser device of the host user and the one or more identified users 210.

The computing device receives instructions to apportion the electronicbill between the host user and the one or more identified users 212. Inresponse, the computing device, identifies one or more users that arecontributing to the total amount due for the shared financial expense;generates for each identified user that is contributing to the totalamount due, a respective electronic bill for an apportioned amount duefor the shared financial expense; and provides, to each identified userthat is contributing to the total amount due, a respective electronicbill for the apportioned amount due for the shared financial expense.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example process 300 for requestingapportioning of an electronic bill among a group of users. The exampleprocess 300 is provided merely as an example and additional or fewersteps may be performed in similar or alternative orders, or in parallel,within the scope of the various embodiments described in thisspecification. A computing device identifies a first user that isavailable for a card-less payment transaction with a merchant restaurant302.

The computing device obtains data describing a booking created by thefirst user for a shared financial expense at the merchant restaurant304. The booking identifies a second user that is participating in theshared financial expense. The computing device obtains a total amountdue for the shared financial expense 306. The computing devicedetermines that the second user is contributing to the shared financialexpense 308. The computing device generates a respective electronic billfor the first and second users 310. Each respective electronic bill isfor an apportioned amount due for the shared financial expense. Thecomputing device sends, to the first and second users, the respectiveelectronic bill for the apportioned amount due for the shared financialexpense 312.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process 400 for requestingapportioning of an electronic bill among a group of users. The exampleprocess 400 is provided merely as an example and additional or fewersteps may be performed in similar or alternative orders, or in parallel,within the scope of the various embodiments described in thisspecification. A user device receives, from a payment system, anelectronic bill for a shared financial expense that was incurred at therestaurant by a group of users 402.

The data can describe a total amount due for the shared financialexpense, one or more items that were purchased from the restaurant aspart of the shared financial expense, respective amounts due for each ofthe one or more items, and one or more users in the group of users. Theuser device sends, to the payment system, a request for apportioning thetotal amount due for the shared financial expense 404. The user devicereceives, from the payment system, data describing an apportionedelectronic bill for the shared financial expense 406. The apportionedelectronic bill can be for an amount that is apportioned among the oneor more users in the group of users. The user device sends, to thepayment system, authorization to pay the apportioned electronic billthrough a card-less payment transaction with the restaurant 408.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example application view 500 for requestingapportioning of an electronic bill. The application view 500 can berunning on a user device, e.g., the user device 102, as described above.The user application 500 is shown displaying an electronic bill that wasreceived for a shared financial expense. The electronic bill identifiesa merchant name and contact information 502, a merchant logo 504, andone or more users 506 that were involved in the shared financialexpense, e.g., user 1, user 2, user 3, and user 4. The one or more users506 can be identified by a name, digital portrait, or a combinationthereof, depending on the implementation. A user interacting with theuser application can select a tip amount 510 to add to the order total.

The electronic bill also identifies an order summary 508 for theelectronic bill. For example, the order summary 508 indicates that fouritems for “Shoyu Ramen” were purchased for a cost of $40. The ordersummary 508 also displays a tax, a calculated tip amount based on theuser's selection of the tip amount 510, and a total amount due for theshared financial expense. The user interacting with the application view500 can select a pay option 512 to pay for the total amount due for theshared financial expense. In some embodiments, the user can select abill splitting option 514 to apportion the total amount due among one ormore of the users 506 that were involved in the shared financialexpense.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an environment 600 for implementing acard-less payment system 608. Although a mobile device environment isdescribed for purposes of explanation, different environments may beused, e.g., a web-based environment, to implement various embodiments.

The example environment 600 includes a card-less payment system 608,which can be implemented as computer programs on one or more computersin one or more locations, in which the systems, components, andtechniques described below can be implemented. The example environment600 also includes a user device 602 and a merchant device 604.

As used in this specification, a card-less payment transaction is atransaction conducted between a user and a merchant at a point-of-saleduring which a financial account of the user is charged without the userhaving to physically present the financial payment card to the merchantat the point-of-sale. That is, the merchant need not receive any detailsabout the financial account, e.g., the credit card issuer or credit cardnumber, for the transaction to be processed.

The user device 602 and the merchant device 604 can each be a computercoupled to the card-less payment system 608 through a data communicationnetwork 606, e.g., the Internet. The user device 602 and the merchantdevice 604 each generally include a memory, e.g., a random access memory(RAM), for storing instructions and data, and a processor for executingstored instructions. The user device 602 and the merchant device 604 caneach include one or more components, e.g., software or hardware, thatare configured to respectively determine a geographic location of theuser device 602 or the merchant device 604, using, for example, variousgeolocation techniques, e.g., a global positioning system (GPS).Further, the user device 602 and the merchant device 604 can each be anyappropriate device operable to send and receive requests, messages, orother types of information over the network 606. Some examples of userdevices include personal computers, cellular phones, handheld messagingdevices, laptop computers, personal data assistants, tablet devices, andthe like.

The network 606 can include any appropriate network, including anintranet, the Internet, a cellular network, a local area network, a widearea network, or any other such network, or combination thereof.Components used for such a system can depend at least in part upon thetype of network, the environment selected, or both. Protocols andcomponents for communicating over such a network are well known and willnot be discussed herein in detail. The card-less payment system 608, themerchant device 604, and the user device 602 can communicate over thenetwork using wired or wireless connections, and combinations thereof.

Before conducting card-less payment transactions, a user typicallycreates a user account with the card-less payment system 608. The usercan create the user account, for example, by interacting with a userapplication 603 that is configured to perform card-less paymenttransactions and that is running on the user device 602. When creating auser account with the card-less payment system 608, the user willportrait of the user, data describing a financial account of the user,e.g., credit card number, expiration date, and a billing address. Thisuser information can be securely stored by the card-less payment system608, for example, in a user information database 611. To acceptcard-less payment transactions, a merchant typically creates a merchantaccount with the card-less payment system 608 by providing informationdescribing the merchant including, for example, a merchant name, contactinformation, e.g., telephone numbers, the merchant's geographic locationaddress, and one or more financial accounts to which funds collectedfrom users will be deposited. This merchant information can be securelystored by the card-less payment system 608, for example, in a merchantinformation database 612.

The card-less payment system 608 is configured to perform card-lesspayment transactions. The card-less payment system 608 can include oneor more servers that are configured to securely perform electronicfinancial transactions, e.g., electronic payment transactions, between auser and a merchant, for example, through data communicated between theuser device 602 and the merchant device 604. Generally, when a user anda merchant enter into an electronic financial transaction, thetransaction is processed by transferring funds from a financial accountassociated with the user account to a financial account associated withthe merchant account.

The card-less payment system 608 is configured to send and receive datato and from the user device 602 and the merchant device 604. Forexample, the card-less payment system 608 can be configured to send datadescribing merchants to the user device 602 using, for example, theinformation stored in the merchant information database 612. Forexample, the card-less payment system 608 can communicate datadescribing merchants that are within a threshold geographic distancefrom a geographic location of the user device 602, as described in thisspecification. The data describing merchants can include, for example, amerchant name, geographic location, contact information, and anelectronic catalogue, e.g., a menu, that describes items that areavailable for purchase from the merchant.

In some embodiments, the card-less payment system 608 is configured todetermine whether a geographic location of the user device 602 is withina threshold geographic distance from a geographic location of themerchant device 604. The card-less payment system 608 can determine ageographic location of the user device 602 using, for example,geolocation data provided by the user device 602. Similarly, thecard-less payment system 608 can determine a geographic location of themerchant device 604 using, for example, geolocation data provided by themerchant device 604 or using a geographic address, e.g., street address,provided by the merchant. Depending on the implementation, the thresholdgeographic distance can be specified by the card-less payment system 608or by the merchant.

Determining whether the user device 602 is within a threshold geographicdistance of the merchant device 604 can be accomplished in differentways including, for example, determining whether the user device 602 iswithin a threshold geographic radius of the merchant device 604,determining whether the user device 602 is within a particular geofence,or determining whether the user device 602 can communicate with themerchant device 604 using a specified wireless technology, e.g.,Bluetooth or Bluetooth low energy (BLE). In some embodiments, thecard-less payment system 608 restricts card-less payment transactionsbetween the user and the merchant to situations where the geographiclocation of the user device 602 is within a threshold geographicdistance from a geographic location of the merchant device 604.

The card-less payment system 608 can also be configured to communicatewith a computer system 616 of a card payment network, e.g., Visa orMasterCard, over the network 606, or over a different network, forexample, to conduct electronic financial transactions. The computersystem 616 of the card payment network can communicate with a computersystem 618 of a card issuer, e.g., a bank. There may be computer systemsof other entities, e.g., the card acquirer, between the card-lesspayment system 608 and the computer system 618 of the card issuer.

The user operating the user device 602 that is within a thresholdgeographic distance of a particular merchant can interact with a userapplication 603 running on the user device 602 to conduct a card-lesspayment transaction. While interacting with the user application 603,the user can select the particular merchant, from a listing ofmerchants, with whom the user wants to enter into a card-less paymenttransaction. The user can select the particular merchant, for example,by selecting a “check in” option associated with the particularmerchant. The user device 602 can communicate data notifying thecard-less payment system 608 that the user has checked in with themerchant. In response, the card-less payment system 608 can communicatedata to notify the merchant device 604 that the user has checked in. Amerchant application 605 running on the merchant device 604 can notifythe particular merchant that the user has electronically checked in withthe particular merchant through a display screen of the merchant device604.

Once checked in, the user can collect, or request, items, e.g., goods orservices, that are available for purchase from the merchant. When theuser is ready to enter into the card-less payment transaction, the usercan, for example, approach a point-of-sale for the merchant and identifyhim or herself. For example, the user can verbally notify the merchantthat the user wants to enter into a card-less payment transaction andcan provide the merchant with the user's name. The merchant can theninteract with the merchant application 605 to select the user, from alisting of users that have checked in with the merchant, to initiate acard-less payment transaction for the items being purchased by the user.For example, the merchant can determine a total amount to bill the userfor the items being purchased. The user can verbally approve the totalamount to be billed and, in response, the merchant can submit a requestfor a card-less payment transaction for the total amount to thecard-less payment system 608. In response, the card-less payment system608 can obtain, for example, from the user information database 611,data describing a financial account associated with a user account ofthe user to which the total amount will be billed.

The card-less payment system 608 can then communicate with the computersystem 616 of a card payment network to complete an electronic financialtransaction for the total amount to be billed to the user's financialaccount. Once the electronic financial transaction is complete, thecard-less payment system 608 can communicate data describing thecard-less payment transaction to the user device 602, e.g., anelectronic receipt, which can, for example, notify the user of the totalamount billed to the user for the card-less payment transaction with theparticular merchant.

The various embodiments can be implemented in a wide variety ofoperating environments, which in some cases can include one or more usercomputers, computing devices, or processing devices which can be used tooperate any of a number of applications. User or client devices caninclude any of a number of general purpose personal computers, such asdesktop or laptop computers running a standard operating system, as wellas cellular, wireless, and handheld devices running mobile software andcapable of supporting a number of networking and messaging protocols.Such a system also can include a number of workstations running any of avariety of commercially-available operating systems and other knownapplications for purposes such as development and database management.These devices also can include other electronic devices, such as dummyterminals, thin-clients, gaming systems, and other devices capable ofcommunicating via a network.

Various aspects also can be implemented as part of at least one serviceor Web service, such as may be part of a service-oriented architecture.Services such as Web services can communicate using any appropriate typeof messaging, such as by using messages in extensible markup language(XML) format and exchanged using an appropriate protocol such as SOAP(derived from the “Simple Object Access Protocol”). Processes providedor executed by such services can be written in any appropriate language,such as the Web Services Description Language (WSDL). Using a languagesuch as WSDL allows for functionality such as the automated generationof client-side code in various SOAP frameworks.

Most embodiments utilize at least one network that would be familiar tothose skilled in the art for supporting communications using any of avariety of commercially-available protocols, such as TCP/IP, OSI, FTP,UPnP, NFS, CIFS, and AppleTalk. The network can be, for example, a localarea network, a wide-area network, a virtual private network, theInternet, an intranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network,an infrared network, a wireless network, and any combination thereof.

In embodiments utilizing a Web server, the Web server can run any of avariety of server or mid-tier applications, including HTTP servers, FTPservers, CGI servers, data servers, Java servers, and business mapservers. The server(s) also may be capable of executing programs orscripts in response requests from user devices, such as by executing oneor more Web applications that may be implemented as one or more scriptsor programs written in any programming language, such as Java®, C, C# orC++, or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python, or TCL, as well ascombinations thereof. The server(s) may also include database servers,including without limitation those commercially available from Oracle®,Microsoft®, Sybase®, and IBM®.

The environment can include a variety of data stores and other memoryand storage media as discussed above. These can reside in a variety oflocations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) oneor more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computersacross the network. In a particular set of embodiments, the informationmay reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”) familiar to those skilledin the art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functionsattributed to the computers, servers, or other network devices may bestored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate. Where a system includescomputerized devices, each such device can include hardware elementsthat may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements including, forexample, at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one inputdevice (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, controller, touch screen, or keypad),and at least one output device (e.g., a display device, printer, orspeaker). Such a system may also include one or more storage devices,such as disk drives, optical storage devices, and solid-state storagedevices such as random access memory (“RAM”) or read-only memory(“ROM”), as well as removable media devices, memory cards, flash cards,etc.

Such devices also can include a computer-readable storage media reader,a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless orwired), an infrared communication device, etc.), and working memory asdescribed above. The computer-readable storage media reader can beconnected with, or configured to receive, a computer-readable storagemedium, representing remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storagedevices as well as storage media for temporarily and/or more permanentlycontaining, storing, transmitting, and retrieving computer-readableinformation. The system and various devices also typically will includea number of software applications, modules, services, or other elementslocated within at least one working memory device, including anoperating system and application programs, such as a client applicationor Web browser. It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments mayhave numerous variations from that described above. For example,customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements mightbe implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, suchas applets), or both. Further, connection to other computing devicessuch as network input/output devices may be employed.

Storage media and computer readable media for containing code, orportions of code, can include any appropriate media known or used in theart, including storage media and communication media, such as but notlimited to volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmissionof information such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data, including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memoryor other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which canbe used to store the desired information and which can be accessed bythe a system device. Based on the disclosure and teachings providedherein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other waysand/or methods to implement the various embodiments.

The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, beevident that various modifications and changes may be made thereuntowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the claims.

1. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising: establishing,by a payment system, a user account for a customer, the user accountassociated with a user application running on a user device, and theuser application acquiring information for one or more financialaccounts of the customer, the information for one or more financialaccounts being stored securely by the payment system in a user database;establishing, by the payment system, a merchant account for a merchantrestaurant, the merchant account associated with a merchant applicationrunning on a merchant device, and the merchant application acquiringinformation for one or more financial accounts of the merchantrestaurant, the information for the one or more financial accounts ofthe merchant restaurant being stored securely by the payment system in amerchant database; accepting, by the payment system, an electronicreservation for the customer at the merchant restaurant in response to areservation request received from the user interacting with the userapplication running on the user device; detecting, by the paymentsystem, that the user is present at a location associated with themerchant restaurant based at least in part on an indication received, bythe payment system, from the user application running on the userdevice; determining, by the payment system, a completion of a servicefor the customer at the merchant restaurant associated with theelectronic reservation by receiving a confirmation of the completion ofthe service from at least one of: the user application and the merchantapplication; receiving, by the payment system and from the merchantapplication, a list of items purchased during the service at themerchant restaurant; providing, by the payment system, an electronicbill for the service to the user application to be displayed on themobile device of the user, the electronic bill including the list ofitems purchased at the merchant restaurant; receiving, by the paymentsystem, an authorization to pay the electronic bill from the userapplication running on the mobile device of the user; and transferringfunds, by the payment system, from the one or more financial accounts ofthe user to the one or more financial accounts of the merchant accountfor at least an amount disclosed in the electronic bill.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein based on receiving theauthorization of the electronic bill from the mobile device of the user,charging, by the payment system and through a card-less paymenttransaction, the user for at least an amount disclosed in the electronicbill further comprises: receiving, by the payment system and from themobile device of the user, an indication that the user has authorizedthe card-less payment transaction with the merchant restaurant, theindication specifying a tip amount; and processing, by the paymentsystem, the card-less payment transaction for the amount disclosed inthe electronic bill and the specified tip amount using a card-lesspayment account of the user that is associated with the payment system.3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining, bythe payment system, the completion of the service associated with theelectronic reservation further comprises: determining that the mobiledevice of the user has exited a geofence that defines a geographicperimeter of the merchant restaurant.
 4. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein the authorization of the electronic bill is based atleast in part on determining that the mobile device of the user hasexited a geofence that defines a geographic perimeter of the merchantrestaurant.
 5. A computing system comprising: one or more processors;and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or moreprocessors, cause the computing system to perform operations,comprising: establishing, by a payment system, a user account for acustomer, the user account associated with a user application running ona user device, and the user application acquiring information for one ormore financial accounts of the customer, the information for one or morefinancial accounts being stored securely by the payment system in a userdatabase; establishing, by the payment system, a merchant account for amerchant restaurant, the merchant account associated with a merchantapplication running on a merchant device, and the merchant applicationacquiring information for one or more financial accounts of the merchantrestaurant, the information for the one or more financial accounts ofthe merchant restaurant being stored securely by the payment system in amerchant database; determining that a user that created an electronicreservation for a service offered by a merchant is present at a locationassociated with the merchant; determining a completion of the servicefor the customer offered by the merchant at the merchant restaurantassociated with the electronic reservation by receiving a confirmationof the completion of the service from at least one of: the userapplication and the merchant application; receiving, by the paymentsystem and from the merchant application, a list of items purchasedduring the service at the merchant restaurant; sending an electronicbill for the service to the user application to be displayed on themobile device of the user, the electronic bill including the list ofitems purchased at the merchant restaurant; and transferring funds, bythe payment system, from the one or more financial accounts of the userto the one or more financial accounts of the merchant account for atleast an amount disclosed in the electronic bill.
 6. The computingsystem of claim 5, wherein charging the user for at least a portion ofan amount disclosed in the electronic bill through a card-less paymenttransaction further comprises: receiving, from the mobile device of theuser, an indication that the user has authorized the card-less paymenttransaction with the merchant, the card-less payment transaction to beprocessed by the computing system; and performing the card-less paymenttransaction for the amount disclosed in the electronic bill.
 7. Thecomputing system of claim 5, wherein charging the user for at least aportion of an amount disclosed in the electronic bill through acard-less payment transaction further comprises: determining that atleast one different user is contributing to the electronic bill;generating, for the user, a first apportioned electronic bill for anapportioned amount due for the electronic bill and, for the at least onedifferent user, a second apportioned electronic bill for an apportionedamount due for the electronic bill; sending the first apportionedelectronic bill to the mobile device of the user and the secondapportioned electronic bill to a mobile device of the at least onedifferent user; and charging the user for an amount disclosed in thefirst apportioned electronic bill through a card-less paymenttransaction and the at least one different user for an amount disclosedin the second apportioned electronic bill through a card-less paymenttransaction.
 8. The computing system of claim 7, wherein determiningthat at least one different user is contributing to the electronic billfurther comprises: receiving, from the mobile device of the user, arequest to apportion the electronic bill among the user and the at leastone different user.
 9. The computing system of claim 7, whereindetermining that at least one different user is contributing to theelectronic bill further comprises: determining that the electronicreservation indicates that the at least one different user iscontributing to a payment for the service.
 10. The computing system ofclaim 5, wherein determining that the user that created an electronicreservation for the service offered by the merchant is present at thelocation associated with the merchant further comprises: receiving, froma mobile device associated with the merchant, an indication that theuser has checked in.
 11. The computing system of claim 5, whereindetermining that the user that created an electronic reservation for theservice offered by the merchant is present at the location associatedwith the merchant further comprises: receiving, from the mobile deviceassociated with the user, an indication that the user has checked inwith the merchant.
 12. The computing system of claim 5, whereindetermining that the user that created an electronic reservation for theservice offered by the merchant is present at the location associatedwith the merchant further comprises: determining that the mobile deviceof the user is located within a geofence that defines a perimeter of themerchant.
 13. The computing system of claim 5, wherein determining thecompletion of the service offered by the merchant further comprises:receiving, from a mobile device associated with the merchant, anindication that the user has checked out.
 14. The computing system ofclaim 5, wherein determining the completion of the service offered bythe merchant further comprises: receiving, from the mobile deviceassociated with the user, an indication that the user has checked outwith the merchant.
 15. The computing system of claim 5, whereindetermining the completion of the service offered by the merchantfurther comprises: determining that the mobile device of the user is nolonger located within a geofence that defines a perimeter of themerchant restaurant.
 16. A computer-implemented method, the methodcomprising: establishing, by a payment system, a user account for acustomer, the user account associated with a user application running ona user device, and the user application acquiring information for one ormore financial accounts of the customer, the information for one or morefinancial accounts being stored securely by the payment system in a userdatabase; establishing, by the payment system, a merchant account for amerchant restaurant, the merchant account associated with a merchantapplication running on a merchant device, and the merchant applicationacquiring information for one or more financial accounts of the merchantrestaurant, the information for the one or more financial accounts ofthe merchant restaurant being stored securely by the payment system in amerchant database; sending, to the payment system and from the mobiledevice associated with the user account, an indication that the customeris present at a location associated with the merchant restaurant;accepting, by the payment system, an electronic reservation for thecustomer at the merchant restaurant in response to a reservation requestreceived from the customer interacting with the user application runningon the user device; sending, to the payment system, an indication uponcompletion of the service offered by the merchant for the customer atthe merchant restaurant associated with the electronic reservation byreceiving a confirmation of the completion of the service from at leastone of: the user application and the merchant application; receiving,from the payment system and by the mobile device associated with theuser, an electronic bill for the service offered by the merchant, theelectronic bill including a list of items purchased at the merchantrestaurant; sending, to the payment system and from the mobile deviceassociated with the user, an authorization to pay the electronic billthrough a card-less payment transaction, wherein the card-less paymenttransaction is processed by the payment system; and transferring funds,by the payment system, from the one or more financial accounts of theuser to the one or more financial accounts of the merchant account forat least an amount disclosed in the electronic bill.
 17. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein sending, to the paymentsystem and from the mobile device associated with the user, anindication that the user is present at a location associated with amerchant further comprises: sending, to the payment system and from themobile device associated with the user, an indication that the user haschecked in with the merchant.
 18. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 16, wherein sending, to the payment system and from the mobiledevice associated with the user, an indication that the user is presentat a location associated with a merchant further comprises: sending, tothe payment system from the mobile device associated with the user, anindication that the mobile device of the user is located within ageofence that defines a perimeter of the merchant.
 19. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein sending, to the paymentsystem, an indication upon completion of the service offered by themerchant further comprises: sending, to the payment system from themobile device associated with the user, an indication that the user haschecked out from the merchant.
 20. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 16, wherein sending, to the payment system, an indication uponcompletion of the service offered by the merchant further comprises:sending, to the payment system, an indication that the mobile device ofthe user is no longer located within a geofence that defines a perimeterof the merchant.